Answer:
Viola's disguise adds the element of dramatic irony to the play Twelfth Night and sets in motion a series of comic situations that spring from mistaken identity. As Cesario the page, Viola has to woo Olivia, who is Orsino's love interest but has no interest in Orsino. Instead, Viola falls in love with Orsino but cannot express her feelings because she can't give away her disguise:
VIOLA: I'll do my best
To woo your lady. [Aside] Yet, a barful strife!
Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife.
Viola realizes another problem created by the disguise when Olivia falls in love with her as Cesario:
VIOLA: And she, mistaken, seems to dote on me.
What will become of this? As I am man,
My state is desperate for my master's love;
As I am woman,--now alas the day!--
What thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe!
O time! thou must untangle this, not I;
It is too hard a knot for me to untie!
Her disguise again proves to be a problem when Sir Andrew Aguecheek, considering her a man, challenges her to a duel. However, the disguise helps her to find her brother Sebastian when Antonio mistakes her for Sebastian.
Explanation:
EDMENTUM/PLATO ANSWER
